March Huh?

 Here is a problem that has been with us for as long as we have lived here.  This edge of the driveway includes a shallow ditch to drain rain or melt water intending to avoid washing away the road surface.  Given the lay of the land, no plow can keep the snow out of the ditch.  Our earlier ice storm covered bare ground with freezing rain and that mixture made a solid bond with the freezing ground.  Never before have we seen ice that could not be chopped and removed.  Despite warmer temperatures this ice absolutely cannot be broken free from the frozen ground.  Melt water has worked its way under the edge but the frozen mass soon sends that water back onto the driveway.  I was able to shovel three loads of thawed gravel and worked with the snowplow driving backwards dragging this mess from the ditch and placing it back in the lane.  The issue that remains is the soggy trap with thawed gravel over deep mud.  We may get three inches of snow tonight and I fear that a professional plow will move huge amounts of gravel from the driveway leaving it totally filling the ditch area.

An afternoon of above freezing air temperature and contact with sunlight have created this mess.  To the left of the remains of the newly carved gully, the driveway remains running water free and rather solid.  To the right of the gully, melt water and eroded gravel have created deep mud.   All of the thawed gravel from the supply pile has been placed here and packed down using my Toyota Tacoma as a steam roller.  Nothing more can be done today to smooth out the ruts ahead of forecast snowfall.  We will see just what tomorrow brings.

Fantastic November Days

Cold wet days have kept me inside for weeks.  Twice snow covered the ground and that is no longer seen as a reason to play outside.  These clear warm days pulled me outside to tend to necessary road work.  Traffic on the path to the mail box created a shallow ditch that drained road runoff following rain.  If left as it was, the channel would be filled with solid ice for most of the winter presenting challenges to both mail pickup and snow removal.  The past three days saw wagon loads of wet fine gravel filling in the waterway.

Any country boy knows that dry sand cannot be packed firm.  Adding water to a load of fine gravel has two benefits.  With the consistency of mortar, it is easy to work the fill into a smooth neat surface.  Driving on the patch packs it down as hard as cement.  Today's fill is in the foreground still holding considerable water.  Given a little time and wheel traffic, it will look as smooth as the previously placed fill.

The last glacier formed interesting features on our acres that were largely useless for farming.  This area is shaped like a cone.  Observation of the mixed deposits here suggests that a stream of water poured over the high edge of the ice and fell into a pool of standing water.  Various visually different deposits lie on a slope rather than in a horizontal bed.  This spot is largely clear of huge rocks but a good sized one can be seen to the left of the tractor.

I have been removing material from here for years.  This area has been a favorite digging spot because its slope is manageable.  Fallen leaves hide the enormity of the hole created here by shoveling by hand.  A substantial slide moved a sizeable chunk held together by small tree roots.  Fortunately this occurred in my absence.  I will remove its edges to reveal the fine deposits now hidden from my shovel.

Becky took this sunset picture.  It captures the remote and private nature of our land.  A careful look will reveal three deer eating close to the house.  They are here much of the time.  This morning one slept close to the kitchen window enabling me to see its frosty breath as it exhaled.  We really enjoy our peaceful existence here living in a nature preserve.
 

Sap Run

Air temperatures in the mid 40s F finally have the neighbor's maple sap running.  A visit with a real tractor and its front mounted bucket cleared the plowed snow ridge at road's edge creating a solid support for the sap container.  The level of sap in the can is minimal but at least sap is finally running.  My maple trees are far from any road, surrounded by knee deep snow.  Memory finds the smells of reducing sap over an open fire.  It is a pleasant way to spend time outside at this time of year but age and the wisdom that is supposed to come with it dictates that some activities remain only as memories.

Mouse-eared chickweed is actively growing in an area that has been kept cleared of snow between the ramp and the car.  Hairy edged leaves remind me of arbutus but it remains buried under deep snow.  Seeds in a pod are from our locust trees.  Weather favored the formation of locust flowers last summer. One of the last trees to leaf out here, it is frost sensitive.  Usually late frost ends any chance for flowers.  The pea like hooded flowers are deliciously scented and numerous seed pods scattered everywhere now remind us of that recent treat.

Most would likely see running water oozing from mud as messy.  I found this delightful since as recently as last year this water was still running in the driveway.  Adding gravel to the driveway and deepening the ditches is grunt work but we are making progress.  The plan is to have the running water do most of the work.  So a man of years drags his booted foot across the muddy grass creating a depression to contain the water.  Some thought that I was simply playing in the mud.

Our truck is also driven in the ditch intentionally.  As the ground softens, truck tires will squish out a decent ditch.  Here again, it can appear that an older man is playing in the mud.

Our first patch of transplanted arbutus is located a little further up the hill to the left.  Snow has filled their protective wire cage and then some.  The notion of shoveling the snow away to reveal only the top of the cage has crossed my mind.  Continued snow melt would then reveal the plants in a nearly natural way.  That would give me an earlier peek at the plant's condition and speed up the opening of flowers.  On this day I ventured into the snow just to test conditions.  Stepping into snow deep enough to cover my knees made me abandon that fool's errand.  Forced to remain patient, more of the snow will have to melt before I make my first visit of the year.

Brown Grass and Mud... WooHoo!

Not every gardener can comprehend my excitement about getting to see brown grass and mud. It' s one of the great things about 4 season gardening. The change is always so thrilling.

What an incredible improvement from yesterday! Ed spent most of yesterday working on the driveway. First he spread dark sand so the the sun could heat it up to melt down into the ice. Once the ice was pitted he had a chance to break it up and push it to the side with his shovel or his tractor. Mother Nature was on his side this time.The warmer temperatures and Ed's persistence changed yesterday's glacier into this lovely broken- up ice and mud.

Just a couple more days of this and the driveway will be all ready for the next snow storm. Of course there will be more snow. It's only February. Still it's really nice to be able to drive down the hill instead of sliding.

I had a special surprise today. We stopped to pick up the mail and I thought I saw a bluebird sitting on the barbed wire fence. We came up the driveway and indeed there was a flock of male bluebirds making their first, but oh- so- very -welcome appearance here. Now that's what I call a harbinger of spring.